Life and Times of a North Carolina Heathen Parent

Tag Archives: Heimdall

Not directly Swedish. No significant amount of Scandinavian. Not a strong heritage tie to my gods as I thought there was. But every area report included a section about the Vikings.

Thursday night, as I was initially processing the whole thing, I was reminded by a dear friend:

We are who we choose to be. You’ve made your choice, and I think whether you’re kith or kin to the Vikings of old, you’re still invited into the hall.

Friday morning, I meditated with Frigg, Thor, Odin, Heimdall, Loki, Braggi, Idunn… and thanked them for calling to me, knowing I was kith and not kin. It felt right. It felt whole.

It also had really good timing, as I’ve been trying to balance my Witch practice with the Pantheon of my deities. Now I fully see they called to me for me, and I will continue to incorporate them into my Magick, rather than change my Magick to match them.

Driving out of my development this morning, I came to a stop sign and when I looked to my right, saw this huge arching rainbow. It looks like it is stemming from a lake, less than a mile from my house. Driving to work, which is about a mile and a half from another lake, I found the other half of the rainbow stemming from that lake.

Rainbows appear in many mythologies across space and time. Generally, they are seen as amiable, a sign from a deity. In Norse myths, the Bifrost Bridge is the connection between Asgard and Midgard, patrolled by Heimdall. Likewise, in Greco-Roman mythology it is a path made by Iris between Earth and Heaven.

In Chinese mythology, the rainbow was a slit in the sky sealed by goddess Nüwa using stones of five different colours.

In Hindu religion, the rainbow is called Indradhanush, meaning “the bow of Indra, the god of lightning, thunder and rain”. Another Indian mythology says the rainbow is the bow of Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu. Likewise, in mythology of Arabian Peninsula, the rainbow, called Qaus Quzaħ in Arabic, is the war bow of the god Quzaħ.

In Armenian mythology the rainbow is a belt of Tir, a Sun god.

Celtic lore gives us the leprechaun’s secret hiding place for his pot of gold: usually at the end of the rainbow. This place is ultimately impossible to reach.

The god from Abrahamic myths put a rainbow in the sky after he drowned the world in an apocalyptic flood as his promise to Noah to never again destroy the earth with water.

In the Dreamtime of Australian Aboriginal mythology, the rainbow snake is the deity governing water.

Some cultures see rainbows as malicious omens. In Amazonian cultures, rainbows have long been associated with malign spirits that cause harm, such as miscarriages.

One of the first groups I joined (and then left because we are in different stages of life…) was a metaphysical group in Raleigh. June 2009 was one of the first gatherings I attended. All good people bringing a lot of different skills to the table. A lot was discussed with the upcoming end of the Mayan calendar. I’m sure they are still discussing it. What does it mean? What change will take place? Some think it will be an end of days for all; some think it will be for those who do not open their mind/heart to Jesus, Love, the Universe, Peace, etc. Those that have been opened and are opening will continue to live, those that do not will perish. They will just fall lifeless to the ground and their essence will drift into the ether. Others thought those who are opened will ascend to a new world while those who have not opened will be here waiting for the next chance, continuing to learn their lessons, continuing to learn how to love one another until the time comes when they get a second chance. One woman claims this happened once before in Atlantis and all perished because none were ready.

I keep the date in the back of my mind, not for counting down until the end of days. Watching the world around me, seeing how it acts and reacts, waiting to see what will happen next. I do think something big is going to happen. I do think something is coming.

Saturday morning, I read Lucius’ post (and Mystical Bewilderment’s one too) about coming changes and what they mean, specifically for Heathens. Both have noticed the Gods of old calling to people across pantheons. Lucian called it a Call to Arms, like a coming war. Which it may be.

In an earlier post, I described how I got to where I am today. I began with Celtic paganism, since I am 1/4 Irish, and this is the lineage to which I subscribe the most. (Truly, I am American with at least 7 lineages in my family history). Then I tried Cherokee Medicine. While I continue to practice many of the Medicine ways, I do not feel comfortable calling myself a follower of a Native pantheon. Through all of my growing and learning, I keep getting called to the Norse. I feel a strong pull towards them, both in my heritage (1/4 German and 1/8 Swedish, plus 1/8 English and the 1/4 Irish…historical evidence of the Norn can be found all over Northern Europe…) and in my Spiritual practices.

After reading those posts, I think it makes sense why the Aesir keep calling to me. They know I will fight to the end for what I feel is right. They know I am a trained warrior (with blade and bullet). I have read and re-read the best modern form of the Edda’s I have found to date.

Yet, I don’t feel right calling myself a Heathen either. I don’t practice quite the way that a Heathen would. I focus a lot on the elements and less on the deities; I focus a lot on kitchen witchery; I focus a lot on the Earth and conservationism. But the only deities I have ever been comfortable opening up to and expressing either mentally or vocally are mine (Sun, Sky, Earth, Moon) or the Norse, especially Heimdal.

Instead of going against the calling, because it doesn’t “fit” what I tend to do, I’m going to embrace the calling.